McIlroy ready to make major run at The Open: 'Excited for the weekend!'

Rory McIlroy insists he is ready to "make a run" to challenge for a historic home major victory at The Open after keeping himself in contention with a strong second round at Royal Portrush.

McIlroy is playing on home soil for the first time since completing the Grand Slam at The Masters in April, with the world No 2 overcoming pre-round nerves and a career-worst performance off the tee to scramble an opening-round 70 on Thursday.

The five-time major champion saw improvements in his driving during the second round, where he mixed four birdies with two bogeys to post a two-under 69, leaving him well placed going into the weekend.

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McIlroy famously missed the cut when The Open was last held at this venue, where he fired the course record as a teenage amateur, but the former world No 1 feels better prepared to challenge for a first win as a professional in Northern Ireland.

"I feel like I let myself down more than I let the fans down [in 2019]," McIlroy said after his round. "It was a hard pill to swallow but, at the same time, I left myself too much to do. This time, I've just gotten better.

"I know what I need to do to get the best out of myself in an environment like that. I've been somewhat close to my best over the first two days in little bits here and there. I'm going to need to have it all under control and have it sort of all firing over the weekend to make a run.

"It's incredible to play in front of these fans. It was 20 years ago that I played the North of Ireland here, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I'd be coming back as a Grand Slam champion - with the support of a nation behind me - trying to win an Open Championship.

"I count myself very grateful and very lucky that I'm in this position, and I'm excited for the weekend."

How McIlroy stayed in major hunt at Portrush

McIlroy produced a huge roar from the Northern Irish galleries when he rolled in a 17-foot birdie at the par-four first, two strokes better than he managed on Thursday and five fewer than the opening round of the 2019 contest.

He elected to take a drop despite narrowly avoiding going out of bounds with his drive at the par-five second, where he finished short of the green with his third shot but scrambled a par.

McIlroy failed to get up and down from off the green to save par at the third, having been forced to stand sideways in a bunker to play his second shot, but made amends with a close-range birdie at the par-four next.

A poor bogey at the driveable par-four fifth - where McIlroy three-putted from distance - left him back level-par for the day, with the 36-year-old also three-putting for par at the par-five seventh to reach the turn in 36.

McIlroy closed on the leaders when he followed a two-putt birdie at the par-five 12th by holing from nearly 20 feet at the 14th, then converted from 10 feet to save par at the 16th before closing out his round with a two-putt par - in driving rain - at the last.

"Another solid day," McIlroy added. "A couple under, improved a little bit on yesterday, hit it in play a little bit more off the tee, which was nice to have some looks out of the fairway and into some of these greens.

"It was a good day. I feel like I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead, but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend.

"I'm excited for that opportunity. I didn't have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited for that. I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run."

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